Śayanī Ekādaśī, Tapta-mudrā-dhāraṇam, the vratas of the 1st month of Ćāturmāsya start

* — Pāraṇam (completing the fast by taking water and food) is to be performed during standard period of time: after sunrise and before the first fifth of the daylight ends. Pāraṇam time could be calculated with “Vaiṣṇavaṁ Pañchāṅgam” software.

< — Pāraṇam must be done before the time specified (in 24-hour format)

> — Pāraṇam must be done after the time specified (in 24-hour format)

HV > — The last quater of Ekādaśī-tithi (Hari-vāsara) starts from the time specified (in 24-hour format). If the starting time is after the midnight, the following date is mentioned with the time. The last quater of Ekādaśī-tithi is considered to be Hari-vāsara and should be strictly observed with Ekādaśī vows even when the observation of Ekādaśī fast follows the next day.

Ćāturmāsya, the 1st month: śāka-vrata

The day of śayanī ekādaśī marks the beginning of the first month of Ćāturmāsya. Ćāturmāsya comprises a little more than four months of Dakṣiṇāyana, a period from the summer solstice till the winter one, when the night of devatas occurs. During Ćāturmāsya Upendra - Viṣṇu, who is present among devatās as Indra’s younger brother – falls asleep, thereby controlling the very state of sleeping, one of the four states experienced by all living beings in the world. Hence the importance - and binding nature - of performing yajnas, donations, fasts, japa, etc is multiplied. During Ćāturmāsya it is customary to take vows of offering 100 000 prostrated obeisances to Viṣṇu, daily recitation of Viṣṇu-sahasra-nāma or other Names, garlands of Names, mantras and śāstrās, 100 000 circumambulations of Viṣṇu’s temple, etc., at the discretion of the seeker of mukti or his preceptor. Even so, the overall and obligatory vow is abstinence from certain foods in every particular month of Ćāturmāsya.

Śāstra (Āditya-Purāṇa) emphasizes that the person who takes ‘śākam’ in the first month “stabs Bhagavān's heart with a spear“ (i.e. attempts such violence), the one who takes ‘dadhi’ (fermented dairy products) in the second month – eats beef (and reaps the corresponding fruits afterwards), the one who takes milk in the third month – takes intoxicants (and thus is deprived of sobriety and discretion), and the one who takes ‘dvidalam bahubījam’ (dicotyledons and manyseeds) in Kārtika, the last month of Ćāturmāsya, - devours worms (degrading to the corresponding level of thinking and aspirations). On the other hand, observation of these vows yields such results in knowledge and bhakti that are incomparably superior to good effects in other months. Besides, the beneficence of the vows grows daily, culminating in the month of Kārtika. Weddings and other rites that are meant to formalize certain bodily relations (or changes) and that can be postponed, are also forbidden during Ćāturmāsya.

During all months of Ćāturmāsya it is forbidden to eat:

• Beans (including green bean);
• Pigeon pea (Cajanus Cajan, tūvaram or tūvarī in Sanskrit, tūr-dāl in Hindi, tūgarī kālu in Kannada, Straucherbse in German) – this legume is the main ingredient of “rasam” soup in South Bhārat. Here is a picture of dried pigeon peas:

• citrons;
• forbidden vegetables (i.e. vegetables that are always forbidden, such as garlic, onion, eggplants, red lentils, etc.)

“Śākam” includes any leaves, flowers, vegetables (including fruits and berries), stems, roots, buds, sprouts, mushrooms, bark, rind and skin. Abstination from śākas is an offering to Śrī-Bhagavān in the first month of Ćāturmāsya. Śākās do not include:

• grains (e.g. rice, maize, wheat, sesame),
• dairy products,
• pulses (excluding beans, pigeon pea and green pea),
• black pepper,
• cumin (caraway)
• rock salt and sea salt, crystallized sugar,
• sesame oil (presumably – by parity of reasoning – maize oil and linseed oil),

Four kinds of śākās are allowed (though voluntary abstination from them is commendable):

• atasī (flax),
• Tulasī,
• amalākī,
• cūta-phalam (mango)

Moreover, it is necessary to abstain from śākās on the days before and after ekādaśī throughout Ćāturmāsya.

Two days before Ćāturmāsya it is necessary to do clear out in the kitchen and other rooms. On Daśamī (the day before Ekādaśī) one should take solemn vows of Ćāturmāsya and beg for strength to keep them, in front of Bhagavān and His entourage.

Thus, one must start observing vows of śāka-vrata on the day preceding Śayanī Ekādashī (i.e. in 2025 on July 5th).

It is customary to perform Sudarśana-homa (a special kind of fire yāga) and Tapta-mudrā-dhāraṇam (branding body with Viṣṇu’s symbols with seals heated in fire), contingent upon availability of a knowledgeable and worthy priest. It is especially commendable to take tapta-mūdras from a mādhva-sannyāsin.

Making vows of Ćāturmāsya and Śāka-vrata:

सुप्ते त्वयु जगन्नाथ जगत्सुप्तं भवेदिदम् ।
विबुद्धे च विबुद्ध्येत प्रसन्नो मे भवाच्युत ।
चत्वरो वार्षिकान् मासान् देवदेव जगत्पते ।
निर्विघ्नं सिद्धिमायातु प्रसादात्तव केशव ।
गृहीतेऽस्मिन् व्रते देव पञ्चत्वं यदि मे भवेत् ।
तदा भवेत् सुसम्पूर्ण्णं प्रसादात्ते जनार्द्दन ॥

supte tvayi jagannātha! jagat suptaṁ bhaved idam
vibuddhe ca vibuddhyeta prasanno me bhavācyuta!
catvaro vārṣikān māsān deva-deva! jagat-pate !
nirvighnaṁ siddhim āyātu prasādāt tava keśava!
gṛhīte’smin vrate deva pañcatvaṁ yadi me bhavet
tadā bhavet susampūrṇṇaṁ prasādāt te janārddana!

“When You are going to sleep, Jagannātha! the whole world falls asleep. When You awake – the world awakes. Acyuta! may You be pleased with me.

“Deva of devas, the Guardian of jagat! Let me meet no obstacles in observing the vow for the four rainy months by Your grace, Keśava!

“Deva, if I leave this body while observing the vow, let it be the last body – let it be the beginning of mokṣa, by Your grace, Janārdana!”

शाकव्रतं मया देव गृहीतं पुरतस्तव ।
निर्विघ्नं सिद्धिमायातु प्रसादात्ते रमापते ॥

śāka-vrataṁ mayā deva! gṛhītaṁ puratas tava
nirvighnaṁ siddhim āyātu prasādāt te ramāpate!

“In front of You, Deva, I’ve taken śāka-vrata. Let it reach completion without hindrance, Ramāpate, by Your grace!”

Kindly direct your inquiries upon fasts and vratas, as well as corrections, suggestions, infromation on time zone changes, and requests to include new places for calculation to ekaadashii@gmail.com.

Ekādaśī-vratas are calculated with “Vaiṣṇavaṁ Pañchāṅgam”, created by Āśutoṣa. You may support the development of this software through Github "Sponsor" button (look for the heart symbol).

Respectfully yours,
Nārasiṁha